PLANS for an independent cinema in Bradford city centre have been stalled.

The Working Title Cinema was due to open in North Parade this spring, but the developer has pulled out after an agreement could not be met with the landlord.

Roy Davison who was leading the bid said the difficult decision had been made after “long and protracted negotiations with the landlord”.

“This is very frustrating and extremely disappointing, given the vast amount of time, effort and money we have invested to reach the stage where we were about to begin the building work,” he added.

“We would also like to thank the many people of Bradford who have offered kind words and advice to us during the last few months. I would mention each of you here individually, but there really were that many!

“Having said all that, we are certainly not going to sit around licking our wounds and feeling sorry for ourselves. It goes without saying that we continue to see Bradford as the most exciting location in which to start a business such as this, with enormous potential, and we will continue to develop our plans.”

Mr Davison said the team was still dedicated to finding a venue in Bradford.

The building's owner, Ajit Singh, said: "Unfortunately the project required significant investment from me which would have come via the Pension Scheme which owns the property.

"Given the tight timescales to secure this investment and the complexities of the refurbishment, we were unfortunately unable to commit to the project. We do however wish Working Title the very best with their project."

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